Mustache transplants on the rise in Middle East

[garbon]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/mustache-transplants-rise-middle-east-213147526.html

Movember is coming to a close in the U.S., but men in the Middle East are reportedly seeking out mustache transplants in order to give their facial hair a thicker and fuller appearance.

"For some men who look young and junior, they think (a mustache) is a must to look senior ... more professional and wise," Turkish plastic surgeon Selahattin Tulunay told CNN. "They think it is prestigious."

Tulunay says he now performs 50 to 60 mustache implants per month on patients who largely hail from the Middle East and travel to his country as "medical tourists."

Several other surgeons told CNN they have seen an increasing number of patients seeking the procedure, with most patients ranging in age from 30 to 50.

The procedure is known as follicular unit extraction and involves removing follicles from areas of the body with dense hair growth and implanting them in the desired mustache area.

Altogether, the outpatient procedure costs about $7,000.

Tulunay tells CNN that his patients often request mustache styles worn by celebrities or historical figures. "They have some celebrities as role models," he said, saying Turkish singer and actor Ibrahim Tatlises is a favorite.

In the U.S. the mustache is taken somewhat less seriously. Groucho Marx was recently voted as having America's favorite facial hair.

In May, an Indian man was recognized by Guinness World Records as having the world's longest mustache at 14 feet.

The mustache is a fixture of the Arab world, dating to the Ottoman Empire. And there have been recent examples of the mustache playing a role in power politics. In 2008 the Jerusalem Post reported that Gaza militants shaved the mustache off a Fatah rival they had abducted.

[Caliga]

 

[Ed Anger]

I like my new Mel Gibson beard that is starting to form. I ain't shaving this one off.

[Camerus]

Used properly, facial hair can be a potent ally.

[PDH]

A lady gets a lotta things
She gets a 20 carat ring
She gets the alimony too
She gets to look good in the nude
But there's one place where they've been whipped
Between the nose and upper lip

M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
One hundred hairs make a man

I tried a handlebar design
My Fu Manchu was real fine
My Ronald Colman made 'em blink
My Pancho Villa made 'em think
But when I trimmed 'em real small
My Jewish friends would never call

M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
M-M-M-M-M-M Moustache
One hundred hairs make a man

They call me sir, and that ain't bad
Sometimes they think that I'm my Dad
And women flirt and you can bet
They like that tickle that they get
The only time I feel bad
Is when the guess the lunch I've had

[Josquius]

I can't grow a moustache.
I shant be going for an transplant.